MEMORANDUM **

California state prisoner Charles Johnson, Jr., appeals pro se from the district court’s judgment dismissing his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 habeas petition as untimely. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 2253, and we affirm.

Johnson contends that his federal habe-as petition is not barred because the one-year statute of limitations provided for by the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act was not triggered until he discovered the factual predicate for his ineffective assistance of counsel claim, which occurred when he realized that (1) he had a meritorious claim for challenging his prior convictions, and (2) his sentencing judge should have recused himself. This contention lacks merit. See 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d)(1)(D); see also Hasan v. Galaza, 254 F.3d 1150, 1154 n. 3 (9th Cir. 2001) (stating that the statute of limitations begins to run when the prisoner knows, or through diligence could discover, the important facts, not when the prisoner recognizes them legal significance).

AFFIRMED.